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Old 12-27-2005, 07:04 PM
DJ Sensei DJ Sensei is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 148
Default Re: How to improve my post flop play?

[ QUOTE ]
Just a couple of suggestions...

<ul type="square">[*]Lose AJo, KJo, KJs alltogether for awhile (just fold 'em man!).[*]Only play AQs, AQo, and AJs from late position (button and CO) until you can put other players on hands more easily.[*]Try to only play AQ/AJ for small pots (unless of course you have the nuts).[*]Stay away from NL25 for at least another 10k hands (consider 20k - what's your hurry?).[*]Search for and review topics like "stop and go", "blocking bets" and "continuation bets".[*]Increase/decrease the number of tables you are playing accordingly (i.e. if you already play 3-4 tables play 1-2 for a while so you can spend more time practicing reading hands).[*]Post more hands here for post-flop analysis (will likely help you the most).[/list]
Good luck.

--M

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd say, an easy way to improve your postflop play (and your game as a whole) is to avoid playing hands that lead to difficult decisions postflop.

Easy hands to play postflop include:
- all pocket pairs
* 22-TT: limp or call and look for sets, position doesnt really matter that much with these hands, so I'll play them from any position
* JJ-AA: raise and look to have an overpair (be wary of overcards, especially aces. a Kxx board is much better for JJ than Axx, if you raised preflop.)
- AK, AQ suited or not. Raising these from any position is profitable. They are a little harder to play postflop if you miss the flop, but you will still likely have the best hand on most flops. Learn as much as you can about continuation bets by searching and reading the forums.
- middle suited connectors (T9s-54s) in late position. These are almost as easy to play as pocket pairs, because you'll either hit the flop well or be able to fold easily.
* Higher SC's (QJs, JTs) are a little trickier postflop, because they'll often lead to a top pair bad kicker situation, which can be costly and hard to play. KQs is usually strong enough to play from most positions, but only raise from later position.
* Lower SC's are not very hard to play, but don't hit the flop as often as middle ones, because they can't make as many straights, and flushes are more vulnerable.

Hands to avoid:
- Weak aces (AJ-A2). Unless you're in late position (when raising with AJ or AT is ok) You should avoid these.
- Weak paint (KJ, KT, QJ, etc.) These often lead to weak and vulnerable top pairs, and are better off folded preflop.
- Other trash (with a 20% VPIP, I assume you're already avoiding these)

Your 20/7 numbers are similar to mine, and I'm very pleased with how they've worked for me, so I think you're on the right track.

Try keeping a little notebook by your computer (or a text document on your computer), and whenever you encounter a tricky or uncomfortable postflop situation, write it down briefly. Later, you can take a look and see if there are any trends, and you can work on these individual aspects of your game that need it.

Lastly, don't worry about "stop and go's". They are predominantly used in shortstacked tournament play, and rarely will be applicable to ring games.

Hopefully this'll help, holler at me (or everyone else) with any questions or ideas you have.
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